Friday, February 9, 2007

Biology

Some topics from biology have been mentioned in class lately. For more info, see the biology department.

Note that some of their courses mention evolution:

BIOLOGY (BIO)
101. Biological Science For Non-Majors 3 hours
Aims at providing students with an understanding of the diversity of living things, their special adaptations to the environment, and their evolutionary and ecological relationships. Course content includes: cell structure and function; function of biomolecules; principles of genetics, ecology and evolution; plant development and adaptation; and the function of selected organ systems. In addition to the lecture section, this course has a required laboratory component. The course is a core requirement for non-biology majors.

111-112. General Biology 8 hours
Required of all biology majors and pre-health professional students. Study of the anatomy, morphology, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, heredity, evolution and interrelationships of life 123.


220. Plant Sciences 3 hours
Study of plant biology at all levels of analysis. Topics include morphology and diversity, evolution and systematics, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, development, reproduction, and ecology. Differences and similarities between plant and animal biology, and the dependence of animals on plants will be emphasized.

220L. Plant Sciences Laboratory 1 hour
Emphasizes experiments and demonstrations on the subjects of plant diversity and anatomy, systematics, biochemistry, physiology, genetics, development, ecology, evolution and reproduction.

Also here are some questions that philosophers of science try to answer:
  • What's a scientific theory?
  • What's a scientific law?
  • What's a scientific fact?
  • (What are the relationships between all these notions above?)
  • What's a well-confirmed or supported theory?
  • When do we consider some claim to be statement of a scientific law? How much evidence do we need?
  • Why is it a mistake to object to some claim by saying "that's a theory, not a fact"?

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